DA: no criminal wrongdoing in jail death of Asheville homicide suspect Royal
ASHEVILLE - Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams said there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the 2022 death of detainee DeMarcus Royal, who was in the county jail on attempted murder charges.
Williams made the announcement Jan. 13, more than eight months after Royal, 48, was hospitalized for four days, dying April 6.
An autopsy put the cause of death as natural and resulting from pneumonia complications. The State Bureau of Investigation initiated a probe — as it does with all Buncombe Detention Facility deaths per an agreement with the DA.
Williams made his decision after the completion in the summer of the SBI investigation. Such probes are not public record, according to state law.
"With no evidence or expert medical opinion that an individual or set of individuals committed negligent or reckless act(s) or omissions within BCDF, and moreover with no evidence that an act(s) or omissions legally caused Mr. Royal's death there is insufficient probable cause to sustain a charge of involuntary manslaughter," Williams said in a 3 p.m. tweet.
Royal's wife, Lynette Royal, could not be reached for comment.
A Citizen Times investigation showed that the Buncombe Detention Facility had the worst death rate of the state's largest jails from 2008-21.
More:Behind the Citizen Times investigation to determine Buncombe has state's deadliest jail
Royal was arrested March 30 and charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder after a shooting at Pisgah View Apartments in West Asheville.
On April 2, jail staff found Royal lying naked on his cell floor with his eyes rolled back in his head, Williams said in his summary of the SBI investigation. He called the investigation "comprehensive" and said it used dozens of videos, interviews, records and notes.
Two days before he was booked, Royal was seen at the Mission Emergency Department, where he said he had difficulty breathing, the district attorney's summary said.
"Mission records indicate Mr. Royal reported a sense of smell but not taste, had a fever 'as high as 102' but also indicate that Mr. Royal left Mission without receiving treatment or coronavirus testing," the district attorney wrote.
Royal was booked into the jail March 30. On March 31, he was seen by a nurse and complained of chest pains and numbness in his legs.
"He was provided with a wheelchair, blankets and mats and "continued on special watch," the DA said. Beginning April 1, Royal began mumbling "unintelligibly." He would not eat meals left for him in his cell, and he sobbed and moaned throughout the next day.
"Mr. Royal continued to sob, moan, urinate and defecate all over the floor of his cell,'" Williams said. Royal's legs were noted to be abnormally swollen at 8:00 p.m.
Royal was "still lying naked near the door" and "in his own waste" at 8:40 p.m., the summary said. Royal's vitals were taken about an hour later by medical staff, who noted that his eyes were rolled back in his head, and that he was unresponsive.
Royal was transported to Mission Hospital and received for treatment at 10:15 p.m.
Williams said he consulted with pathologist Dr. William Thomas Harrison of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, specifically inquiring "whether a failure within BCDF to identify the medical emergency sooner was a cause of death."
Because of many intervening medical events between Royal's transport and death "assessment of Mr. Royal's actual condition at the time of his transport to Mission is impossible," Harrison said, according to the DA.
"In sum Dr. Harrison is unable to provide an expert medical opinion that any failure within BCDF amounted to a negligent or reckless criminal cause of death."
Williams noted in his summary that his review was "limited to a determination of whether there is probable cause to believe that a prosecutable violation of NC criminal law occurred."
"The DA's Office does not review for internal agency policy violations or personnel decisions, civil liability (as may be alleged in a negligence lawsuit), or any other purpose," he added.
Royal was first charged with attempted murder in a Short Michigan Avenue shooting in March 2022, where there were two reported victims. One of the victims, 49-year-old Simone Marquette Burnette, died at Mission Hospital days after Royal. The case had to be closed with Royal's death, then-Asheville Police Department spokesperson Bill Davis told the Citizen Times on April 20.
Royal was a Georgia native, according to his obituary. He was a father and grandfather.
Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government, and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095, or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
Ryan Oehrli covers public safety, breaking news and other beats for the Citizen Times. Comments? Questions? Tips? Send them to coehrli@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: DA: no criminal wrongdoing in jail death of Asheville homicide suspect
